Best places to ride in europe

[derrick]

Having recently come back from a tour of Holland , we are looking for some were else, i really fancy Italy but the other half thinks it will be to hilly for her, we are looking for ideas where are the nicest places to cycle, ie bike freindly, lovely scenery, not to many big hills and plenty of bed & breakfasts, and would it be better to take your own bikes or hire bikes when you get there, it has to be warm we love the sun,
Cheers Del.

 

[Brains]

Germany (or Austria).

Massive cycle path network
Even more bike friendly than Holland
'Bett und Bike' (Cycle friendly B&B network, with optional luggage transfer)
Many companies that will organise bike tours for you, including bike rental and luggage transfer and return to start
For maps look at the Estebauer 'bike line' series, some are in English (not that it matters, as it the maps you want)
Easy to get to, Ferry to Hook of Holland and either car or train
Most of the long distance paths, like Holland, follow rivers and canals, so no hills
Sign posed all the way
English widely spoken, to a degree
Proper food, proper beer, better weather than the UK or Holland
Trains actually designed to take Bikes ! that run on time !!!! and are cheap !!!!

My recommendations would be
The Danube cycle path, the classic bit is Passau to Vienna, but the source to Bratislava is all good
The Elbe cycle path, the classic bit is Wittenberg to Decin, but Hamburg to Decin is all good
The Mosel (classic all the way, but far too much wine that just has to be tried)
The Rhine, Bingen to Bonn is the classic bit
The Spey - runs into Berlin, a great city to cycle into

(PS: I've cycle toured in UK, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Austria & Czech Rep)

 

[dragon72]

I can think of a couple which I liked that would suit.
Alsace
Loire Valley
Both can be hit or miss weather-wise, but tend to be hit in August.

 

[steveindenmark]

It depends when you intend to go Del.

There is a new ferry line starting from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark in the summer called Regina Ferries.

Sorry but it is only in Danish at the moment.

http://www.reginaline.dk/billetpriser.htm

Bikes go free and it is much cheaper than DFDS. One way is about £30.

Denmark is a great place to cycle which ever direction you go. It is not flat as people expect but it is not Italy that is for sure.

As for accomodation there is Danhostels but I would suggest airbnb.

If you need any information get in touch with me.

Steve

 

[Blue Hills]

Thanks for that - interesting - but it's one hell of a basic web page - and all the delights on offer seem to be in Britain which is kinda curious - I presume this boat makes the return trip to Denmark ...

 

[BrazingSaddles]

OH and I did our first ever cycle-camping tour (two weeks) back in 2009 going from Saint Malo - Île de Ré - Saint Malo. Various routes you could take. Our choice seemed pretty flat - we went via Paimpont & Saint-Nizaire - and I'm sure you would certainly have B&B choices dotted throughout. On way back we did part of the Loire Valley which provided some picture-postcard moments.

In 2010 we cycled through part of Northern Spain and had such a great time we plan to go back. People were friendly and the scenery was beautiful. A few hills though as we took some coastal roads.

We found the Dunube cycle path too flat & boring (& too many cyclists!!). We pottered off into the Black Forest instead.

Northern Italy: Awful. Drivers were rude and reckless (avoid Switaly too - Swiss/Italy border). Big hills. Crap bread! Others we have chatted with have had more positive experience - I think primarily in Southern Italy. We were VERY disappointed.

In terms of bikes, I can't help you there. Best to perhaps check what companies offer and plan your trip around their options - ?

In a months time I'll be able to let you know what Denmark & Sweden are like!

Good luck holiday-hunting.

 

[marinyork]

Northern Italy: Awful. Drivers were rude and reckless (avoid Switaly too - Swiss/Italy border). Big hills. Crap bread! Others we have chatted with have had more positive experience - I think primarily in Southern Italy. We were VERY disappointed.

My experiences are very limited (not least because they were holidays where I cycled quite a lot as opposed to proper tours), but I didn't find Piedmonte a problem at all. Generously wide and immaculately tarmaced roads, barely ever saw a lorry compared to UK roads (they are all on the motorways or freight trains) and no super aggressive loutish WVMs. Lower speed limits than UK roads. No bad overtakes. What I thought was particularly pleasant was what would be the equivalent of lower A roads or B roads in the UK instead of having traffic chocked roads, with cars screaming past you at 59mph inches from you hands gripping the handlebars, you had cars drift past you gently and barely noticed them (because of the much lower speed limits). It wasn't all perfect but looking at similar roads and where you'd had traffic clumps in the UK and loads of lorries it just wasn't there. Italy was a lot more pleasant both in the busy countryside roads and the heavy industry roads. There are sprawly and retaily/industrial bits that aren't great, but compared to the equivalent UK thing I think they are idyllic. I didn't go to Aosta, Lombardy or sudtyrol. I did get warned that around Milan was really bad. The biggest problem with Italian roads was the same here - roundabouts. They have an obsession with them and Italian drivers are every bit as aggressive and inattentive towards cyclists and scooters (on roundabouts) as UK drivers are. In Turin it was open warfare in cars particularly at tea time rush hour (continual beeps and shouts), but this was against other car drivers - never against pedestrians or cyclists.

Romagne and Marche (east coast, quite high up) they are absolutely bonkers about cycling (Pantani country). That section of the adriatic coast is very touristified, very youthful and a real buzz. In the off season it is quite quiet and dead in comparison, but the weather in it is still roasting hot and sunny compared to the UK (March/April - after that it becomes superwarm in the high twenties and low thirties). There are actually if anything too many cyclists (and teenagers on scooters) once you get into summer. If you go along the coast in Romagne/Marche it's pan flat on the whole apart from that bit of the Giro wot Harmon warned wasn't as flat as it looked and the pros absolutely slaughtered (stage 5 Modena to Fano - the small blip on the map being a set of 'large' hills in a stunning nature reserve) and some big hills near Ancona. If you go inland it becomes lumpy and hilly (although a few of the valleys the central roads through them are flatish). Marche is probably the worst served area of Italy if you look in detail at a rail map, if you want to go down the coast it's fine, if you want to go inland it's much more problematic and this is where cycle touring would link in with trains. If you go inland into Romagne it is pan flat and farming country interspersed with powerhouse cities that are famous with excellent transport connections. An interesting bit of the world. The Italians are people of leisure, sports and family activities and the biggest problem days are weekends where resorts become packed.

I agree about the bread, but the hams and cheeses made up for it!

edited: for clarity and typos

 

[carolonabike]

Bavaria is fabulous for cycling, particularly around Garmisch. There are hills if you want them but it's also easy to stay in the valleys. It's extremely beautiful with snow capped peaks, picture postcard villages, the germans are super friendly and as you would expect everything works like clockwork. There are lots of gasthaus along the way for accomodation and refreshements including of course fabulous cakes. It's not particularly cheap but it's my very favorite place of all.

 

[hoopdriver]

Another vote for the Danube Bicycle path. It is really nice from the source in the Black Forest all the way to bratislava, as noted above. I particularly enjoyed the stretch from Regensburg to Passau and on to Vienna.

 

[mcr]

+1 for Germany. Just back from there only yesterday (see ongoing report via sig line). There's an enormous range of paths and routes available, and from my recent experience I'd recommend not feeling you have to stick to the well-known routes (some get very crowded anyway) - I found some of the more out-of-the way ones such as the Lahn or the Murg ultimately more enjoyable than the Neckar or Moselle - all just as well signposted and largely tarmac all the way. Google some of the radweg resources for the various Länder or the German Tourism site. The ADFC range of maps (stocked at Stanfords in Covent Garden) are good for planning and on the road (and there are several competitors to the renowned Esterbauer guides available once you're in Germany and they're not all so heavy to cart around!).

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

London!!

No, only kidding.

 

[doonhaemer]

Scotland
Isle of mull , outer hebridies, islay, oh, anywhere in Scotland really. Not too many cycle paths, but not many cars either.